Stocks drop after Trump ‘orders’ US companies to leave China

Wall Street plunged Friday after President Trump “ordered” US companies to seek alternatives to doing business in China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 400 points moments after Trump launched into a Twitter tirade lambasting China for intellectual property theft and fentanyl shipments to the US.“We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far…better off without them. The vast amounts of money made and stolen by China from the United States, year after year, for decades, will and must STOP.” Trump said in a series of tweets.

“Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA,” Trump said.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq joined in the bloodbath, shedding 1.6 percent and 1.8 percent.

Trump also directed Fed-Ex, Amazon, UPS and the US Post Office to “search for & refuse” fentanyl shipments from China and other countries.

Shares of Amazon dropped 1.9 percent while FedEx and UPS shares were off 2.6 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, as of 11:35 am.

Apple, which makes many of its products in China, dropped 3.8% to $204.20 a share.

Trump’s remarks came following China announcing that it plans to impose $75 billion of tariffs on US goods, including agricultural products and small aircraft as well as resume tariffs on US autos. The tariffs are set to go into effect in two stages on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15, mimicking the schedule the US plans for instituting tariffs on Chinese goods.